The IRS reversed decades of legal precedent in a July 7 court filing by saying that churches and other religious 501c(3) organizations can endorse political candidates in certain circumstances.
The filing creates a narrow exception to the so-called Johnson Amendment, which has barred churches and other charitable organizations from getting involved in politics since 1954.
While advocates have said the change boosts religious organizations’ First Amendment rights, others are skeptical about churches having more sway in politics and argue the new rule violates the First Amendment by favoring religious organizations over their secular counterparts.
Here’s what to know about the new policy:
What is the Johnson Amendment?
The rule was introduced by former President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954 when he was serving as the U.S. Senate majority leader. It banned all tax-exempt organizations like churches and charities from “directly or indirectly” participating in politics, specifically in endorsement or opposition of candidates.
Who was behind the lawsuit?
The July 7 filing stems from a lawsuit filed in Texas in September 2024 on behalf of the National Religious Broadcasters, an international association of evangelical Christian communicators, as well as Intercessors for America, a conservative Christian prayer advocacy group. Two Texas churches also joined as plaintiffs: First Baptist Church Waskom in Waskom, Texas, and Sand Springs Church in Athens, Texas.
Why are some people concerned?
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, whose membership is comprised of nearly 40,000 “atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree,” was “stunned” by the reversal of the decades-long policy, foundation legal counsel Chris Line told USA TODAY.
The foundation has reported dozens of pastors and churches to the IRS over the years for engaging in what it viewed as prohibited political speech, Line said.
It reported the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in September 2024, for example, over its election guide that it said had a “clear bias and preference for Donald Trump and Republicans.”
It also reported New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia after former Vice President Kamala Harris was invited to speak at a worship service in October 2024. Pastor Jamal Bryant made comments that suggested the church was “urging its congregants to vote for Kamala Harris in the upcoming election in violation of the law,” the foundation’s letter to the IRS said.
He referenced the narrow nature of the IRS’ July statement and said it appears that “a lot of the worst actions would still be impermissible” under the tax code. There is, however, room for questions about where the line between prohibited and acceptable political involvement will fall in practice.
“Churches shouldn’t necessarily feel 100% safe based on this to go out and start violating the Johnson Amendment,” he said.
Dan Mach, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, also told USA TODAY the exemption “raises serious constitutional concerns” by “favoring religious viewpoints over nonreligious ones when handing out tax subsidies and benefits.”
Line also expressed concern over the “disparity” between tax rules for religious organizations and other charitable entitites.
“We’re in a situation now where churches are allowed to violate this law, but all other groups, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, were not given that same carve out,” he said.
The American Humanist Association said it was “discouraged, but ultimately not surprised” by the decision in a July 8 statement.
“The Johnson Amendment, though weakened over the years by lax enforcement, is the small but mighty dam standing in the way of a torrent of dark money influencing our elections,” executive director Fish Stark said.
Now, “all bets are off.”
“There will be little to stop billionaires from funneling money through churches to buy our elections – and they will get a tax write-off for doing it, all subsidized by American taxpayers,” Stark said.
It said the ruling is ultimately a boost for the religious right and Christian nationalists, whom they said now “have the megaphone they’ve been waiting for for decades.”
Who’s celebrating the decision?
Trump called it a “terrific” move by the IRS.
“I love the fact that churches could endorse a political candidate,” Trump told reporters at the White House, according to Reuters. “If somebody of faith wants to endorse, I think it’s something that I’d like to hear.”
Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, said the change “would never have happened without the strong leadership of our great President Donald Trump” in a July 9 X post.
“Government has NO BUSINESS regulating what is said in pulpits!” he wrote.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation also reported Jeffress to the IRS for his overt support of Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence in 2020.
What previous actions have been taken to remove the Johnson Amendment?
Trump pledged in his first term to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment and later claimed to have “gotten rid of” the provision, but the law has remained part of the tax code. Trump did, however, direct the Treasury Department to avoid penalizing religious organizations for speech about “moral or political issues from a religious perspective” in a May 2017 executive order.
Rep. Mark Harris, R-NC, and Sen. James Lankford, R-OK, introduced the Free Speech Fairness Act in March that sought to allow charitable organizations – which would include churches and other houses of worship − to make political statements “if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax-exempt purpose.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, co-sponsored Lankford’s bill, while more than a dozen Republican representatives including Rep. Barry Moore, R-Alabama, and Abe Hamadeh, R-Arizona, co-sponsored the House bill.
“For too long, the Johnson Amendment has silenced pastors, churches and non-profits from engaging on moral and political issues of our day for fear of losing their tax-exempt status,” Harris said in a March news release. “This attempt to muzzle people of faith must end – the Constitution is clear: Americans’ right to free speech shall not be infringed.”
Is this a popular idea?
According to a 2024 survey conducted by Lifeway research, a Southern Baptist Convention research organization, only three in 10 U.S. adults (29%) believe pastors publicly endorsing candidates for public office during a church service is appropriate. Three in five (60%) disagree, including 42% who strongly disagree and 11% who aren’t sure.
When asked directly in the survey if churches that endorse political candidates should lose their tax-exempt status, around 48% of respondents agreed, 31% disagreed and 21% weren’t sure.
But the percentage of Americans who see pastors endorsing a candidate in church as appropriate has risen steadily over the past 16 years, according to the organization. In the first survey of the topic in 2008, only 13% saw political endorsements during a church service as acceptable. The number rose steadily in the second survey conducted in 2015, before rising to its current 29% in 2024.
Has the Johnson Amendment been challenged before?
Previous court rulings have upheld the Johnson Amendment over the years.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the 1970s that a nonprofit religious organization was not entitled to a tax exemption because its actions, according to the court, sought to influence legislation and “attack(ed) candidates and incumbents who were considered too liberal.”
The ruling said the government has an “overwhelming and compelling” interest in keeping the “wall separating church and state … high and firm.”
Decades later, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that a religious organization that had its tax-exempt status revoked had “failed to establish a First Amendment violation” in the case.
Notably, speakers at the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission in June also supported challenges to the Johnson Amendment and expressed a belief that the First Amendment doesn’t prevent the government from promoting religion as a social good.
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: IRS lifts ban on churches getting involved in politics: What to know
